Three Successful Professionals Differentiate Themselves with NAIFA’s LACP Certification

By John Boyle, CAE

NAIFA’s Life and Annuity Certified Professional (LACP) certification is a seal of approval and professionalism for advisors in the life insurance and annuity market. For more than 130 years, NAIFA has been the professional association that advocates, educates and differentiates advisors. For nearly 40 years, NAIFA’s LUTCF designation has been a cornerstone credential for tens of thousands of advisors. In 2017, NAIFA expanded its credentials offerings to include the LACP, which has cultivated a committed group of LACP-certified advisors and growing recognition in the industry.

Unlike many industry credentials, the LACP is an exam-based certification. There is no designated course of study. Instead, candidates who meet the eligibility requirements for licensing, experience, education and a commitment to NAIFA’s Code of Ethics may test themselves against the LACP exam. Passing the exam earns a candidate the opportunity to present themselves as a certified professional in the life insurance and annuity space.

The LACP is unabashedly about recognition and promotion of an advisor’s experience, knowledge and credentials as a proven professional.

Credentials Matter

When he first joined the industry, Mark A. Squires, founder and president of Wise Choices Financial, LLC in Kansas City (loyal member since 2017), did not embrace industry credentials. He said, “I had an old guy tell me those certifications are alphabet soup.” But as Squires assessed advisors in his area who were more successful and more visible than he was, he noticed many of them highlighted their credentials. That is when he realized, “You know what? Credentials matter to people.”

Once he had that realization, Squires said, “I actually went to the FINRA website and read everything about the various credentials.” That is how he decided to pursue the LACP. Of the more than 200 credentials recognized on the FINRA designations list, only nine are included on FINRA’s list of accredited designations. LACP is accredited by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA). The NCCA is an independent organization that has established accepted standards for professional certification programs and, through a rigorous peer review process, assures compliance with those standards for certifications that bear the NCCA imprimatur.

AN EXAM-BASED CERTIFICATION

The foundation of the LACP exam is the exam content outline. This outline was developed by a team of subject matter experts who are NAIFA member advisors with real world experience. The subject matter experts began with a job analysis that identified the essential knowledge,